Methi Matar Malai

Before I proceed, I promise this will be the last in cream series, at least for a while, since I have run out of cream and not planning to buy any soon.

This is one of the dishes you find in the entree section of any Indian restaurant. Though this is a different version, it essentially includes all basic elements - methi or fenugreek leaves, matar or peas and malai or cream. It can be eaten with rotis or rice.

This dish was pretty challenging, literally. When we went to Indian street, my husband almost picked up ready mix of this dish, thank god I saw it. It doesn't make difference to him if it is home cooked or store bought. Men and their way of thinking is too simple in these things. Anything that can be eaten during meals is all they need. No matter where they come from or how much effort you put in making them :) Anyways, he challenged me to make it restaurant like, at home, and then he wouldn't buy anymore ready dishes. And guess who won it :) Moi!

In other news, all these recipes are making my mom angry. Yes, she is, since my dad demands her to prepare these every time they come to know I have posted a new recipe in my blog. He loves rich foods and he is a heart patient with diabetes. According to him, never regret about eating something when you actually can eat it with your own teeth. Lols! he never likes any healthy food. On the hind side, my father-in-law eats only healthy food (well most of the time).

So we as children (at least to them) are mixed breed. We enjoy anything we eat and are adjusted to all kinds of food, Vegetarian food.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients to grind:

• 3 tbsp cashew nuts soaked in water for 30 mins
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 3-4 garlic pods grated
• 1/4 onion chopped roughly
• 1 tomato de-seeded
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3-4 cloves
• 3-4 cardamom pods
• 4-5 black pepper corn
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 3/4 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 cup green peas
• 2 cups chopped fenugreek leaves (add salt to chopped leaves and keep it for 10 mins and drain to remove bitterness)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients with little water given under to grind section.
• In a sauce pan, add oil and let it heat, once hot, add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Add onion and fry until translucent.
• Then add peas and fry for 2 mins and then add fenugreek leaves and fry for another 5 minutes.
• To this add the ground masala and add water to get curry consistency and bring it to boil.
• Add cream slowly giving a gentle stir simultaneously and then add milk to it.
• Add in sugar and then salt and check for taste. Serve hot.

Rava Upma / Khichdi

Today was such a laid back day, it was awesome. Hence my post is this late. My workouts gave me a bad body ache when I got up. Both my husband and I did our Sunday chores, vacuuming, sweeping, washing and folding clothes and regular cooking.

After a long time we had a good afternoon nap. Spoke to our cousin and his to be fiancee and prepared for the week ahead. As usual we had our heavy Sunday lunch, an evening coffee and snacks, and wanted a delicious dinner.

Rava khichdi or upma is very famous in South India. It is what you usually find in any functions for breakfast or when a guy visits a girl's home for the first time while meeting parents and vice versa. There are many ways to do it. Today, I have made this using Avarekayi or Val Beans. Right now, val beans are not in season, so I have used frozen ones but without any preservatives. It can be prepared without any veggies or the usual beans, carrot, peas, potatoes and so on.

Val beans or field beans are considered exotic in some parts of India. They are available in the cold season and since its cooked and eaten, it brings warmth to the body during cold days. Back in Bangalore, people make all kinds of food using these beans. I love trying them.

Though I am not that crazy about upma, my husband and my father-in-law are biggest fans of it. They can eat it for any or all three meals for the day and with curd or rasam.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 5 mins to cook Val beans + 15 mins preparation time

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1 tbsp chana dal or split bengal gram
• 1 tbsp urad dal or black gram
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 inch ginger shredded
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 1/2 cup avarekayi or val beans cooked in microwave for 5 mins on high
• 1 and 1/2 cups Roasted Bhansi Rava (Thick Semolina)
• 3 cups water
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1-2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2-1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp curd
• 1 tsp ghee or clarified butter
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp coconut shredded
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a wok add oil and let it heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Then add in asafetida, chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden brown.
• Now add curry leaves, ginger and green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Add in cooked val beans and turmeric and fry for 2 minutes.
• Now add water and let it come to a boil.
• To the water add salt, sugar, curd and lime juice and give it a stir checking for taste.
• Add in the roasted semolina and mix it well with water until it thickens and the grains of semolina are smooth. It takes five minutes.
• Switch of the stove and garnish with ghee, coriander leaves and shredded coconut. Serve hot.

Note: Always add coconut and coriander at the end so that it does not get cooked much and to retain all the flavor. Ghee is added at the end just to get a good taste.

Salsa Cruda Bruschetta

We had been to Houlihan's in Weehawken, NJ last Saturday. Though it was not the first time in that restaurant, it was first in that area. It was long time since we had been to Houlihan's and my husband was longing to eat their Veggie Burger.

We have a few options there for vegetarian entrees. In particular, we like the veggie club sandwich and the Burger with a green peas patty. This time we ordered Salsa Cruda Bruschetta for appetizer course. I was simply mesmerized by its taste. It felt like I didn't want to eat anything else for my entire lifetime. Yes, it was that great. So if my attempt to recreate this Bruschetta is even 10% close, then I would consider myself successful.

Salsa, simply put is tomato sauce. But it is somehow extended to include anything which has more tomatoes. Salsa can be cooked or raw. Uncooked salsa is known as Salsa Cruda. Anyways I found this page very interesting to understand different types of salsa.

I have used garlic infused butter instead of using garlic directly since I don't like to get garlic pieces in my mouth. Also used is vegetable cream cheese spread. You can use any type of cream cheese, in case you can't find it, you can add cheese while toasting bread to melt it directly on bread.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 10 mins prep time + 10 mins baking time + 10 mins for assembling

Ingredients:

• 1 French Baguette bread slit into half and cut into approximately 8 inch pieces
• 1/4 stick of butter or 1/4 cup of butter
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 3 firm tomatoes finely chopped
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 8 to 10 basil leaves shredded
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt as needed
• Black pepper powder as needed
• 3 wedges of cream cheese spread
• Grated parmesan for garnishing

Method:

• In a sauce pan add garlic and butter and let it melt . Once melt switch off the stove.
• Using a brush, rub the garlic butter on top of the baguette pieces evenly.
• Bake them in a conventional oven at 425K for 10 mins or until they crisp up.
• In a mixing bowl add chopped onions, tomatoes basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix it together gently folding in to make salsa.
• Once the bread has toasted spread the cream cheese on top of each bread.
• Add the salsa prepared on top of each bread.
• Sprinkle parmesan on top and serve.

Malai Kabul Channa - Garbanzo/Chick peas cream curry

I had some left over shredded cabbage, a cup or more, stored in a plastic zipper bag. I decided to use it with garbanzo beans. Both combine very well. I used traditional method of soaking on boiling instead of using canned ones.

Nowadays I am in mood to make cream based curry. Not that its too rich, but the flavor is really good, if used in right amounts. As mentioned before in previous blogs, if you don't have cream, use equal amount of milk.

So I gave this curry for my husband's lunch this week and for the first time, without me asking, he told it tasted superb. If you know my husband, you know that he is not that vocal about anything. So it was real pat on my back.

This is not a spicy curry but it goes very well with rice as well as chapati. It is good while hot but carries well.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: Overnight Soaking for chick peas + Cooking chick peas + 20 mins 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup chick peas soaked and cooked
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• A pinch of hing (asafetida)
• A pinch of turmeric
• 2 tsp chana masala
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a sauce pan, heat oil, once hot add mustard seeds and hing and let the mustard seeds crackle.
• Then add in chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden brown.
• Now add in the shredded cabbage and fry for 5 mins.
• Add the turmeric, channa masala powder and chili powder and  fry until the raw smell is no more evident.
• To this add the cooked chick peas and tamarind paste and mix it a bit to even out the paste.
• To this add cream and some water to give it a curry consistency, let it come to a boil.
• Once it boils add salt and check for taste. 
• Switch off the stove and add chopped coriander and mix well.

Bhindi Masala - Okra Marsala Fry

So as I told I wasn't that well yesterday. So my husband took on the job of cooking, which includes anything that is kept on a stove, including water :). Though he told he would come back from office and cook something for dinner and next day's lunch, I knew he would be the happiest if I did it all before he can. Sometimes happiness is all you feel when your life partner or best friend is happy. In my case he is both.

Coming to this recipe, I have mentioned before that Ladies Finger or Okra is my favorite vegetable any day. There are numerous traditional methods that can be used to cook Okra, but today my technique is to do a filling method. In this case I have used curd, instead you can also leave the curd and use oil and masalas instead.

There are numerous health benefits of okra, some are:

1. The slime of okra reduce blood glucose levels.
2. It is rich in Vitamin B and folate for safe pregnancy.
3. Helps to reduce kidney problems.
4. Helps with respiration.
5. Promotes healthy skin.
6. Eases motion and aids for digestive health.
7. They are low in calorie and can be eaten as a part of any diet.
8. Rich source of antioxidants and Vitamin C.
9. Rich in Vitamin A for eye health.
10. Rich in fibers, vitamins and minerals.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 30 mins resting time and 30 mins cooking time

Ingredients:

• 1 lb or 1/2 kg okra cut into 2 inch pieces, slit till 3/4th of length 
• 2-3 tbsp curd
• A pinch of turmeric
• A pinch of fenugreek powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• salt as needed
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1 onion cut lengthwise
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 green chili finely chopped

Method:

• In a small bowl, add curd, to this add turmeric, fenugreek, chaat masala, red chili, cumin and coriander powders along with salt and mix well
• Fill this curd mixture into every piece of slit okra and after filling all okra let it rest in a bowl for 30 mins.
• Discard the clear slime, if any, left in the bowl after 30 mins
• In a sauce pan, heat oil. Once hot add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• To this add onions and green chillies and fry until translucent.
• Add in the Okra and fry on medium high without closing the lid. It takes at least 20 mins to fry so be patient.
• Keep turning the okra occasionally and take care so that it is not burnt.
• Finally when there is no more sliminess, add salt and check for taste. 

Review - Payless Shoe Source

As most of you know, Payless is a famous shoe store chain in USA. It is known for affordable shoes. They also sell handbags and other accessories like socks, stockings, small jewelry, winter wears like gloves, hands and scarfs.

Though the store has good collection for women and girls collection, not much in the boys and men section.

So we had been to Payless Shoe Store in 34th street NYC. It was a small but charming store. Not much help offered by the staff. But I was impressed by the collection. There were nice designer shoes for less than $30 a pair. Also there is always a sale any time in Payless.

Sites like Retailmenot and Promocodes carry the latest coupons, with which sometimes you can save up to 50%. The best time to shop is during the start or end of seasons and festivals. Around the time that I purchased, it was Easter (Easter is on 20th April this year). They had brilliant colors and designs. I have purchased before in this chain but there is a drastic change in terms of designs.

They are fresh and in fashion, specially the flats and the wedges. The canvas shoes are totally cute and comfortable with style. The new thing though is their booties, half boots and half sandals. They have complete collection of summer essentials including the good old flip flops. They are stocked up with pastel shades as well.

Below are the 4 pairs I took. The blue sandal looks great on jeans and khaki shorts, the black gladiators are great looks for Capri, the olive booties almost go with everything and can be worn in winter and summer and looks chic, and finally the off white wedge is that one light color shoe which is essential for a Western or Easter wardrobe. I got it billed for $112 but since it was my birthday month I got an extra 25% off, which I almost forgot when I got it billed, but the lady at the counter was kind enough to re-bill this discount and we got enough savings. And my husband quoted the infamous line "Happy wife, happy life" :)

Brown Rice and Lentil Savory crepe - Ade Dose

So though I am all sick today, I was pretty OK when I decided to do Ade Dose yesterday for dinner. Since it requires soaking of ingredients, I could do the preparation yesterday morning itself.

I am using organic rice for this, also known as brown rice. It is very nutritious and beats the boring white rice any day. Brown rice takes longer to cook and to soak. So I soaked brown rice in hot water so that it softens easily.

This recipe uses 3 different lentils as well. They are chana dal or split bengal gram, toor dal or yellow pigeon peas and moong dal or split green gram. All three are used in equal proportion and soaked as well. The version which my mom makes has urad dal (black gram) as well. But this is mom-in-laws recipe and she never uses that.

This dosa is heavy in nutrition and does not necessarily require a chutney as condiment. At home, we eat it with curd, jaggery or molgai pudi (spicier version of chutney powder) with oil. We add hing or asafetida and ginger to reduce the gassiness of lentils.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time:  5 hours soaking time + 15 mins blending time + 1 or 2 mins per dosa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chana dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1/2 cup moong dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1/2 cup toor dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 2 green chilies
• 3 dry red chilies
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 2-3 tsp salt
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• A pinch of turmeric

Ingredients for tempering:

• Oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 10 curry leaves
• A pinch of hing

Method:

• Grind soaked chana dal, moong dal and toor dal with little water along with both red and green chilies, ginger, hing and turmeric.
• Grind soaked brown rice separately with  little water into a fine paste.
• Add salt to it and mix both the batter until you get an even consistency.
• In a small spatula heat a tsp of oil, once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Add hing and curry leaves and fry it for a second or two.
• Add this tempering to the batter and mix it.
• On a hot flat pan or tava add this batter to the center using a spatula and spread it in increasing clockwise direction until it is a rough circle and the dosa is spread thin.
• Add 1/4 tsp of oil around this dosa and let it cook for a minute or two.
• Roast the opposite side as well and fold and remove. Continue this for the rest of batter.

Excess batter can be stored in the fridge and used whenever needed. Once it starts smelling of sourness, its time to discard.